


Without Words

by whizzerdbrown



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Trans! Whizzer, more tags as i write!, selective mutism, sselective mute! whizzer, whizzer also has anxiety & panic disorders, whizzer is in an abusive relationship before meeting marvin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-16 00:18:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13042575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whizzerdbrown/pseuds/whizzerdbrown
Summary: At thirty six years old, Marvin finds that he isn’t satisfied with his life. With the suggestion from his psychiatrist to take a small get-away to try and “find himself,” Marvin ends up in a New York City hotel room, barely even a state away from home, where he meets Whizzer.Whizzer Brown, just recently kicked out and too stubborn to break his vow of silence of who knows how long.





	1. get-away

“A get-away?” Marvin repeated after the man in front of him. 

Mendel Weisenbachfeld was a good guy, he really was. He was kind-hearted, and meant well, and wanted the best for all of his clients. That much was obvious. He was a fairly good listener, and, sometimes, he had some good advice. Then, there were times like these. 

“Yeah,” Mendel said, his tone suggesting that he sort of regretted making that decision, but continuing to go with it as if it was horrible to make mistakes. “Anywhere. Nowhere too far, of course, and nowhere out of price range. Just… go somewhere for the week, or for the weekend, or for the– for as long a you need to- to just _reconnect_ with yourself.” 

Marvin resisted the urge to roll his eyes by nodding his head instead. “What about my family?”

Mendel gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure they can get by, it shouldn’t be all that long. Trina is strong. And, I’ll keep in touch with them. I’ll help with anything they may need.”

“Right,” Marvin sighed. “Yeah, alright. Fine.”

And the session ended by Marvin just getting up out of his chair and leaving the room. Mendel knew better than to question him. 

—

Trina watched as Marvin stuffed articles of clothing into a suitcase. It was silent, other than the rustling of the clothes. Oh, and there was the sound of Jason killing zombies from the family TV, but that had grown to just be background noise at this point. 

“Marvin, darling,” Trina finally spoke up from her seat on the edge of their bed. “What are you doing?”

Marvin explained the situation. Going away, to who knows where, for who knows how long, on the suggestion of his therapist. His stupid, sometimes insane therapist. Trina had corrected him, saying that Mendel was not stupid or insane, but she did agree that he often came up with silly ideas. 

He sighed to himself, closing the suitcase. “You know his number. If you need anything, call him. He told me to tell you.”

“What a nice offer,” Trina stated, with a smile. 

“Uh-huh,” Marvin shrugged, grabbing the bag and leaving the room. 

Jason asked him if he was moving out, with a slight bit of worry in his eyes. The fact that he actually _paused_ the game to turn and look at Marvin was enough, though, to prove that he really cared. He got halfway through explaining the situation before Jason was back to his gaming. It was clear enough that Marvin would be back. 

He and Trina gave one last kiss, and then Marvin was off. Suitcase in the back of his car, him in the front, some loud music going – music that Trina never would have let him play. It was at this point, a mile or so away from home, that he didn’t even realize where he was going. He decided to just drive until he got tired. 

And he got tired after ending up in the next state over – New York. More specifically, New York City. He’s been here before. He and Trina take Jason here every now and then, just for something to do. It was only two to three hours away, depending how many stops were made. He stopped at a hotel and booked a room for a week – he didn’t know how long he’d be here, but he really doubted that it would be more than a week. 

He took his stuff up to his new room, after getting stuck in an elevator with at least twenty other people. God, maybe New York City was a _terrible_ idea. He spent the rest of the night unpacking his stuff and watching the shitty hotel television before going to bed. 

—

The next morning, Marvin found himself at a coffee shop. He ordered coffee, black, and a croissant, then disappeared in the back of the shop alone. This was nice for people watching, which Marvin hadn’t got to do in forever. Trina always thought that he was checking other girls out, so he had to stop. He never was, though, he was always just observing everything as a whole. 

There were lots of couples, he figured out quickly. He wondered how many of them were unhappy. He found his eyes drawn to a gay couple only a table or two away from himself. One of the men was talking vividly, with hand motions and different expressions. Marvin could hear what he was saying from the back of the store. The other man, the one that captured Marvin’s attention the most, was just sitting there. Sitting there, watching his boyfriend, with a fake smile painted over his face. 

“And then – oh god, Whizzer, you’ll never believe what happened next,” the loud one was saying. “I told my boss, and…”

Marvin tuned him out. Whizzer. Was that the other guy’s name? He wondered if that’s the name that his parents gave to him, or if it were a nickname, or something else. Marvin was drawn to this man with no explanation as to why. He had to get up and leave the shop before anyone noticed him staring. That was an interaction that he was not at all prepared for. 

He ended up just walking the city streets aimlessly, without a clue what to do. He could just look up on his phone _What to do in NYC?_ but he doubted that he’d actually like any of the options anyway. Bored, with nothing better to do, he turned into a supermarket. 

Marvin walked the aisles with no particular item in mind. He only got a destination when he heard a familiar voice a few aisles down. 

And there they were. Whizzer, and his apparent boyfriend. The boyfriend sounded angry this time, and Whizzer wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, Whizzer’s expression was blank. 

“Stop _embarrassing_ me like this! God damn it, Whizzer, those are my _friends!_ I _know_ you can talk, I fucking know you can! You’re not mute or deaf. I respect your decision 90% of the time, why can’t you just humor me and not make me look like an _idiot?”_

Whizzer didn’t have a response for that. The other guy gave him enough time, but Whizzer didn’t even try. And then the sound of a slap echoed through the store. Marvin was about to run in and stop it, before anything else happened, but an employee beat him to it. 

“Hey!” She was saying, gently pushing the unnamed guy back. Whizzer was on the opposite side of the aisle now, up against boxes of cereal, with a hand over his cheek where he was hit. The employee turned to him, starting to ask if he was okay, but Whizzer quickly turned on his heel and left the store. Past Marvin, without even a second glance. The boyfriend left right after him. 

Marvin considered following after him, but decided that it was for the best that he didn’t. With a sigh, he turned and continued with the rest of his looking around. He was out in less than a half hour, wandering the streets again. He wasn’t too far from his hotel when he spotted Whizzer once again. Sitting alone in another coffeeshop, staring down at a white mug. 

Against his better judgement, Marvin went inside as well. He ordered his own coffee and then approached Whizzer’s table. 

“Whizzer, is it?” He asked, watching as the other raised his head. “Mind if I sit?”

Whizzer stared at Marvin for a moment, searching Marvin’s face, before just shrugging and nodding to the chair opposite him. So, Marvin sat. 

“Who hurt you?” Marvin asked. His tone suggested teasing, but his expression was soft and open. Both of them knew that Marvin already knew the answer. 

Whizzer shrunk back ever so slightly, in an action of fear, but matched Marvin’s two different emotions with another of his own as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Marvin couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Stubborn.”

Whizzer’s gaze turned back to his coffee cup. 

“Was that from where he hit you in the store?” Marvin tried again, referencing to the bruising just below his eye. 

A shake of the head. 

“Did he hit you again?”

Hesitation, then a nod. 

“Does he hit you often?”

No response. Whizzer just lifted his coffee cup, taking a drink.

Marvin shrugged it off. “Alright,” he stated. “Do you live with him?”

Whizzer looked back up at Marvin, giving him a look. Marvin couldn’t tell what that look was supposed to mean. Whizzer shook his head. 

“Have you ever lived with him?”

A nod. 

“He kicked you out?”

Another nod. Then, Whizzer pulled his phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table. He held his hand out to Marvin. 

Marvin hesitated, glancing at Whizzer’s phone, then at his soft looking hand, before putting his own phone into Whizzer’s hand. When Whizzer returned his phone, it was open into contacts. 

_‘Whizzer Brown <3’ _ the contact name read, with Whizzer’s apparent phone number beneath it. When he looked up, Whizzer had grabbed his own phone and was standing up. 

Whizzer waggled his own phone at Marvin, with a smile, before turning and leaving the coffee shop. That smile, Marvin could tell, was a real one. 

Marvin’s get-away just got ten times more interesting.


	2. conversations

It only occurred to Marvin that Whizzer had been kicked out after Whizzer had already left the coffee shop, and after Marvin had gotten back to his hotel room. A glance at the clock told him that it was only ten o’clock, and that it shouldn’t be too late to offer Whizzer a place to stay. 

Marvin has had his phone open on Whizzer’s contact for the past ten minutes, searching for a reason to text him. He was glad that he finally got one figured out. 

**to: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_Do you have a place to stay?_

After it was sent, Marvin started to question himself. He just met the guy. Was it okay to suddenly invite him over like that? It didn’t really matter anymore, he guessed, because it was already sent–

 **from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_sort of. why?_

For some reason, Marvin was kind of surprised to get a response from Whizzer. Maybe it was because he’s never actually gotten a response from him.

**to: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_Sort of?_  
_Well, I’m staying at a hotel. I was just going to say that if you needed a place to go, you’re welcome here._

Was that weird? That was weird. Marvin was internally freaking out. Whizzer didn’t seem to care one bit, though. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_oh. cool. which hotel? and room number?_

Marvin stared down at his phone, amazed. Whizzer was… something else. He ran a hand through his hair, before texting Whizzer the details. Whizzer responded almost immediately, saying that he’d be there in ten minutes. 

 

And it was exactly ten minutes. Right on the dot. Marvin knocked at the knock on his door, immediately jumping up and running to open it. 

Whizzer was standing there, and he looked a bit surprised to get such a quick answer. He smiled and waved. Marvin smiled back at him and motioned him inside. 

“So,” Marvin started, awkwardly. “What did you mean by sort of?”

Whizzer gracefully dropped himself on one of the chairs – and it truly _was_ a graceful drop, something that Marvin had never seen before – then pulled out his phone, typing out something. Marvin’s phone pinged. 

Oh. Right. 

Marvin checked the text. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_it’s my family’s place. i’m not exactly wanted there._

“Oh.” Marvin mumbled. “Okay. Well… Do you want me to just text you instead? Is that better?”

He felt weird only hearing his own voice for so long. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_no, i like your voice. keep talking._

Marvin just nodded his head. Whizzer was looking at him, grinning. He seemed like a completely different person from the first two times that Marvin had seen him. First, when he was faking a smile, and then second when he was completely stone faced. This Whizzer just seemed to be open and confident. 

He took a seat in a chair nearby Whizzer’s, but not too close. “So, uh, how old are you?”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_twenty-nine. let me guess, you’re thirty-three?_

“No, actually,” Marvin chuckled. “Thirty-six.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_seriously? you don’t look that old._  
_do you have a family of your own? why are you here all alone?_

A loaded question. Marvin sighed and nodded his head. “I have a wife and a thirteen year old son. But, see…” He hesitated. Whizzer was watching him, interest flickering over his expression. “I don’t think I’m interested in her anymore–“

Whizzer gasped dramatically. It was the first actual noise that he’d heard come from Whizzer since the first time he’d seen him. It made Marvin chuckle. 

“Yeah, I know. I just– don’t think I’m interested in _women._ I think I’ve known this for awhile, actually. I was just never ready to admit it.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_why not? nothing wrong with being homo._

Marvin grinned. “I know that. It’s just awkward when you’ve been married to a woman for almost seventeen years now.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_damn. goin strong._

Whizzer was grinning as he sent that. It made Marvin laugh. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_have you told anyone else yet? or am i, some gay stranger, the first person you’ve told?_

“You’re the first person I’ve told.” Marvin admitted. “My wife would go crazy. And my son– I don’t know. He plays too many zombie games rather than socializing, I don’t know what he’d do.”

Whizzer snorted. 

Marvin shrugged. “I may just never tell them.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_and just be unhappy for the rest of your life?_

Marvin shrugged again. Whizzer had a point. He just decided to change the topic. “So.. That guy. Your boyfriend. Is he always like that?”

 **from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_he just has anger issues. i swear, he isn’t always like that. sometimes he’s sweet and loving. he was just having a bad day._

Whizzer had this look on his face that Marvin knew meant he wasn’t being entirely truthful. Marvin had a feeling that things like this had happened before. But, he dropped it, for now. He didn’t want to make things more awkward than they already were. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_anyway._  
_what’s your son like? aside from liking zombie games._

“Oh, uh, he’s smart. Very smart.” Marvin answered. “Jason is… He’s not like all the other kids. He doesn’t really have too many friends, and would rather sit inside playing games all day. And it doesn’t matter if we ground him from electronics, he has just as much fun playing chess. By himself, too.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_i’m good at chess._

“Are you? Maybe you could play with Jason sometime.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_i’m kidding. i suck ass at chess._  
_also, don’t you think your wife would be mad if you suddenly came home with a stranger?_

Marvin chuckled. “Yeah, probably. But she’s always mad.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_at you?_

“Not necessarily. Just at something.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_do you love her?_

Marvin hesitated. “I… don’t hate her. I don’t like her romantically, not anymore.”

Whizzer didn’t respond this time, just watched Marvin with a curious expression. 

“She’s a good woman,” Marvin continued. “And she’s sweet, for the most part, and she’s a good mother to Jason.” 

Whizzer nodded his head, showing understanding. For some reason, Marvin continued beyond that. He was telling Whizzer, whom he had just met, more than he had told Mendel within all of the years of having him as a psychiatrist. 

“I think I married her just because we were young, and we had been high school sweethearts. And her parents like me, and always kept joking around about marriage and about us having children of our own – even her father. And her father, he’s a tough man. And when I finally proposed, he was probably the most ecstatic that I’ve ever seen him in all of the years that Trina and I’ve been together. And it’s not like I’m _upset_ that I’m still with her, I just…”

 **from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_i think you are upset that you’re with her._  
_can i ask you something?_

“Yeah… sure. What is it?”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_have you ever been with a guy?_

Marvin hesitated at that. “... No.” 

Whizzer was grinning again as he typed and sent his next reply. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_do you want to try it?_

“Whizzer.” Marvin was taken aback. “You have a boyfriend.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_do i?_

And then Whizzer’s lips were against Marvin’s, and he couldn’t get himself to pull away.


	3. again (part one)

Marvin finally regained his control, and gently pulled Whizzer back from him. “Whizzer, you have a boyfriend. And– and I have a wife.”

Whizzer just raised an eyebrow at him, silently challenging him. He stepped in closer again, but this time he didn’t do anything. Marvin saw something in his stare, but he couldn’t make out what it was. What it meant. 

“But… it _did_ work for me, for the record.” Marvin added. 

That made Whizzer laugh, and Marvin grinned. Whizzer had a wonderful laugh. It was musical. Not forced at all. 

Marvin, despite himself, reached a hand up and touched Whizzer’s cheek. Whizzer leaned into Marvin’s touch, with a smile. “Are you going to stay with him?”

Whizzer shrugged. He didn’t have to decide right now, anyway. It wasn’t like the guy was right there with them. 

“You avoided my question earlier.” Marvin said, gently rubbing his thumb against Whizzer’s skin. His cheek was soft. “Has he done this before? Does he hurt you a lot?”

Whizzer took Marvin’s hand from his cheek, intertwining their fingers, then did the same to Marvin’s other hand. Whizzer had soft hands, too. Just like before, though, he gave no response to the question. 

Marvin sighed. “He has, hasn’t he?” He watched as Whizzer slowly nodded his head. 

Then Whizzer quickly pulled away, and Marvin was afraid that he did something wrong, but Whizzer was just grabbing his phone. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_he always apologizes to me afterwards. sometimes it’s only a few hours later, but sometimes it’s days._

“And you always go back to him?” Marvin asked. He took Whizzer’s free hand and pulled him over to the couch, sitting him down and then sitting beside him. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_yeah. for some reason._

Whizzer leaned against the shorter man’s shoulder. Marvin trailed a hand through Whizzer’s hair, and smiled when he felt him practically melt into his touch. “Do you love him?”

Marvin felt Whizzer shake his head, after a slight bit of hesitation. 

“Then why go back to him?”

Whizzer didn’t give a response. Marvin assumed that, maybe, it was something personal. He didn’t push it. 

—

They ended up just falling asleep there on the couch. When Marvin awoke, Whizzer was gone, and he was covered up with a blanket. He assumed that was Whizzer’s doing. Marvin sat up with a yawn, glancing around the room. 

“Whizzer?” He called out. “Are you still here?”

He didn’t get a response. Whizzer didn’t come into the room, either. Marvin guessed that he just left. He sighed, pushing himself up off the couch and stretching out his arms. 

He checked his phone; no texts. A missed phone call from Trina. He should probably call her back. 

Marvin changed into clean clothes before dropping himself back on the couch, calling his wife. 

“Marvin, good morning,” Trina greeted. She sounded cheerful, which was kind of unlike her in the morning like this. 

“Hey,” Marvin responded. “How are you?”

He could hear Jason in the background, and– was that Mendel’s voice, too? Trina responded. “I’m alright. Mendel is here – he’s talking to Jason. About video game usage and about finding friends.”

“Ah.”

“Are you upset?” 

“No.” Marvin didn’t really know if he was upset or not.

Trina was quiet for a moment, before changing the topic. “Have you done anything interesting?”

“I–… I, uh, made a friend.” Marvin answered. A friend, that he kissed and cuddled with on the couch. 

“Oh.” Trina said. “That’s good.”

There was a bit more small talk, before they hung up. Marvin ended up slipping shoes and going out again – and he saw Whizzer through the window of that same coffee shop. He paused, just watching through the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for the late update and for the sUPER SHORT chapter!!
> 
> i’m switching povs for the next chapter, which is why i cut this one so short. it’s starting right at the end of this one, just with whizzer’s thoughts and feelings instead of marvin’s!!


	4. again (part two)

Matthew just _wouldn’t stop talking._ And, really, Whizzer didn’t want to hear it anymore. 

“I love you, Whizz,” he was saying, “you know I do. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I was just having a bad day.”

And he droned on, and on, and on. And on and on and on. Whizzer didn’t lift his gaze from the empty marble countertop of the table they sat at, trying to lose himself in a mix of his thoughts and the strong scent of coffee that floated around the small shop. It wasn’t working too well, because he could still hear the pathetic _lies_ that were Matt’s apologies. 

Whizzer and Matthew have been dating off and on for almost six years now. By now, Whizzer knew that nearly everything the guy was saying was a lie. That he loved him, that Whizzer was more than just sex and a pretty face, that he didn’t mean to hurt him and that it would never happen again. It used to hurt Whizzer, the first time that he found out that all of this shit was a lie. 

And, really… It still did. It still hurt. But he didn’t let it bother him anymore. He didn’t let himself get his stupid hopes up, he didn’t let himself believe even for a _second_ that anything would change. 

That’s why he started that vow of silence. The fourth time that they broke up, the fourth time that Matt had hid Whizzer. He lied, saying that it was something of a family religious tradition. For some reason, Matt believed it. Whizzer hated not talking at first, because he was such an outgoing, energetic soul, and it almost killed him to hold back snarky, sarcastic remarks to certain people. But now, after years and years of not saying anything at all, it was nothing. He’d learned to say all that he wanted to say with only one glance or gesture. His silence gave a mysterious type of air about him that he absolutely _adored_ having. 

But then… People like Marvin made Whizzer want to just start talking again. But Whizzer couldn’t trust so easily, not yet. Maybe he’d slowly open up around the other man, but not just yet. Not yet. He hardly knew the guy. 

“Whizzer?” Matt said. Whizzer only caught it because Matt had grabbed his chin, making him look up. “Are you listening?”

Whizzer thought about that for a moment. He could be a smartass and shake his head. He could take the _safe_ route and nod, and take Matt’s hand and kiss him, as he always did, in some type of a ‘forgiving’ gesture. Or…

“Fuck you.” 

Matthew looked surprised to hear the words from Whizzer. Really, Whizzer was surprised, himself. He talked to himself, sometimes, when he was home alone, when Matt was at work. But never as loud as this, never as clear and confident and angry and–

“Wha– Whizzer, no, babe–“

Whizzer shook his head, standing up from his seat. “We’re done.” 

Matt was left stuttering and stammering in heated embarrassment and anger. Whizzer just turned his back, starting to head out of the shop–

Marvin. Marvin was standing there, right there, at the door. Whizzer stared, silent once again. 

They must have stared at each other for at least a minute, both in some sort of shock and awe, before Marvin spoke with a grin. “So you _can_ talk, huh?”

The shorter male extended a hand to Whizzer, which he took after some slight hesitance. He hoped Marvin didn’t notice the falter in his otherwise always confident persona. Marvin sure didn’t _say_ anything about it – instead, he pulled Whizzer out the door and down the sidewalk. 

Whizzer spared one last glance at Matt, who was glaring coldly out at them, as he was dragged down the sidewalk. 

“That was brave,” Marvin said, looking up as Whizzer fell into step with him. “Really brave.”

Whizzer gave a shrug, and Marvin chuckled at him. 

“Not speaking again? Alright, fair enough. I won’t pry. I do hope you’ll open up to me one day, though.”

Whizzer smiled to himself at that, nodding and turning to face forward again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woot there we go! 
> 
> do you guys like the switching povs, or should i keep it just marvin’s? or just whizzer’s, for that matter? lemme know, i’m here to please!


	5. voice

Whizzer had a beautiful voice. Sure, Marvin only heard a total of four words from him, and they were said in an odd, painful tone of anger, frustration, and hurt. But those words were beautiful, and Marvin meant what he said. He hoped that Whizzer would open up to him someday, that Marvin would get to hear that brilliant voice again. 

But Marvin wanted to hear that voice in a different light. He wanted to hear Whizzer happy, he wanted to hear him cheerful and excited and confident and sarcastic. 

He was startled from his thoughts when his phone dinged in his pockets. Whizzer was holding his own phone, smiling, which brought a smile to Marvin’s face as well. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_what are you thinking about? you’re awfully quiet._

“Nothing important,” Marvin answered, instead of telling the truth. He didn’t want to pressure Whizzer into anything, he wanted to wait until Whizzer was ready. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_oh reaaaaallyyyyyyy????_   
_because, you know_   
_that sounds like something that someone who is thinking about important things would say._

That made Marvin laugh. He shook his head, “Does it? Well, Whizzer, I can _assure_ you that it’s nothing important. I was thinking about my wife and son back home.”

Whizzer didn’t necessarily seem to believe that, but he took the bait anyway. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_have you talked to them?_

“Yeah, this morning. They’re hanging out with my psychiatrist.”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_you sound upset. does that bother you?_

Marvin shrugged. “I don’t know. Either way, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I can ban then from talking with him.” 

Whizzer, smiling, mimicked Marvin with a playful shrug. Marvin rolled his eyes at him. Whizzer grinned, then changed the topic. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_so, about last night._

“Yeah?”

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_i don’t have a boyfriend anymore. ;)_

Marvin laughed. “No, you do not. Do you feel better now that you’re single?”

Whizzer seemed to contemplate that for a moment, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard, before he actually began typing his response. 

**from: Whizzer Brown <3 **   
_i guess so. it’s going to be more lonely, though. when do you go back to your family?_

“I don’t know. I wasn’t given a specific time frame.”

 **from: Whizzer Brown <3 **  
_how mad would they be if you just…_  
 _stayed here?_

Marvin laughed at that. “I’m not sure. I was kind of beginning to wonder that myself, honestly.”

Whizzer chuckled. 

They ended back at Marvin’s hotel room, cuddled up on the couch together again. This time, though, it was the middle of the day, so both of them were wide awake and not planning to sleep any time soon. Marvin trailed his hands through Whizzer’s soft hair, pretending to be paying attention to whatever was on the television. Instead, though, he was watching Whizzer, who was laying with his head in Marvin’s lap. 

Whizzer, who really was watching the television. Or, who was at least distracted by something that wasn’t looking at Marvin. Whizzer, who Marvin had just met a day ago and who already had Marvin’s heart. Marvin twirled some of Whizzer’s hair around his fingers. There was still a stark bruise over his cheek where that asshole had hit him. It made Marvin mad that Whizzer had stayed with him even after it had happened before. He wondered how long they’d been together. How long Whizzer had put up with it. 

He had a very pretty face, Marvin noticed. He was just a pretty person in general, very nice to look at. And Marvin assumed that was why Whizzer’s ex kept trying to get Whizzer back – because he was attractive. Marvin was looking further than that. He hadn’t known Whizzer for long, but, so far, he had a wonderful personality, too. Funny, kind, a bit of a smartass when the situation called for it. 

Whizzer suddenly turned his gaze to meet Marvin’s, raising his eyebrows at him with a smile. Marvin smiled back, a bit sheepishly. Whizzer had caught him staring. The boy in question winked up at Marvin, grinning, now. 

“What?” Marvin asked, chuckling slightly. “What’s that look for?” 

And then Whizzer was upright in Marvin’s lap, kissing him. And that was only the beginning of the fun they ended up having that night, fun that Marvin hadn’t at _all_ expected to have while on this gradually less stupid get-away that he’d been sent on.


	6. trust

When Whizzer awoke, he was still in Marvin’s bed. Marvin was still there, too – Whizzer was still pressed against the shorter man’s side, still being held in a surprisingly loving embrace. If Marvin had been any other guy, and this was at other situation, Whizzer would have pushed himself out of his grip and left. But this wasn’t any other guy. This wasn’t any other situation. 

This was something… new. Something special. Whizzer felt loved and safe for once when being held by another man. Another man who didn’t seem to just be using him for sex, it seemed. A man who actually liked his company, actually liked having him around, actually cared about him. It truly was something _new._

Whizzer sighed, snuggling himself up even closer to Marvin’s warm chest, letting his eyes drift closed yet again. This feeling, the warmth bubbling up inside of him as he felt the heaviness of sleep starting to pull him under once again, was one that he hadn’t felt truly in such a long time. One that he wasn’t going to take for granted ever again. 

 

When Whizzer awoke the second time, Marvin was awake. Still in bed, still holding him in that close, warm, loving embrace. Whizzer had, for some reason, half expected Marvin to leave during the time he was asleep. The fact that he was still there made Whizzer almost want to cry. 

“Hello, sleepyhead,” Marvin greeted, smiling almost childishly. 

Whizzer snickered, burying his face into Marvin’s warm chest. It was weird how someone could radiate so much warmth, even when Whizzer had laid with Matthew like this every night. Matthew seemed like a block of ice compared to Marvin. 

Marvin ran a hand through Whizzer’s hair, then traced his fingertips down the back of Whizzer’s neck, and over his shoulder, and up and down his arm. Soft, sweet touches that Matt might’ve given him once in the first month of them being together, or that he would give when they were in public and were expected to at least pretend to love each other. But Marvin’s gentle caresses were real, were genuine. Marvin wasn’t doing this for attention, or to pretend that he loved Whizzer, and Whizzer could tell just by how light the touches were. 

He leaned up into Marvin’s touch when his hand returned up into his hair, and he smiled when he heard Marvin’s chuckle. 

Whizzer was touch starved. He really was. It hurt to admit it, too, even if he only really was admitting it to himself. 

“Last night was fun,” Marvin commented, continuing to run his fingers through Whizzer’s hair and over his bare skin. “Did you sleep well?” 

Whizzer nodded against Marvin’s chest, before carefully adjusting his position so that he could look at the other male. 

Marvin smiled at him, so softly, so gently, so _lovingly._ Whizzer almost felt something inside him break, but he didn’t let it show. Marvin’s touches moved to Whizzer’s cheek now, cupping his cheek, his thumb tracing small shapes up and down. And then it paused. 

“Whizzer, are you okay?” He questioned, hesitantly. 

Shit. 

Whizzer briefly glanced around for his phone, but, of course it wasn’t here. It was probably in a completely different room. He only nodded in answer, and Marvin started to say something else, but Whizzer decided to cut him off. 

“I love you.” 

And then it was silent. Marvin had this look of shock on his face. Shock, mixed with awe and happiness. Marvin chuckled, still seemingly in a state of surprise, continuing the tracing of shapes on Whizzer’s cheek, before responding, “I love you, too.” 

Whizzer smiled. 

“You don’t have to speak to me if you don’t want to, you know,” Marvin added, awkwardly. “Don’t feel pressured.”

“I know.” Whizzer nodded. “I want to. I trust you.” 

Marvin only stared with a goofy smile on his face. He still seemed to be kind of in awe. Whizzer laughed, leaning in closer to place a kiss against Marvin’s cheek.

“My wife is going to kill me,” Marvin murmured, after awhile. 

Whizzer only hummed in response, laying his head back down and tracing patterns over Marvin’s chest with his finger. 

“I don’t even think I care.” Marvin added, grabbing Whizzer’s attention. “She can chew me out all she wants.”

Whizzer moved his gaze back over to Marvin, looking over his expression. It was kind of hard to read, for the first time since Whizzer’d met him. Usually, it was easy to tell what Marvin was thinking. “Hm?”

And then Marvin smiled again, this one reassuring, just as soft as all of his other smiles that morning. “I’m going to leave her.”

“Because of me?” Whizzer questioned. He was glad, obviously he was glad, but he felt kind of guilty, too. 

“Because of _us,_ Whizzer. Because of us.”


	7. everything will be alright

Trina called Marvin later that day. He and Whizzer had moved from the bed, finally, sometime in the late afternoon. 

Marvin cursed under his breath. Whizzer looked at him quizzingly, as he tried to decide whether he actually wanted to answer the call right then. If he didn’t, Trina would freak. He sighed, getting up. “I’ll be back.”

He took the call in a different room. “Hello?”

“Marvin?”

“Trina.”

“Hi. How are you?”

“I’m–“ Marvin could have just given the usual, casual response. But instead, he opted for something different. “Trina, we need to talk.”

There was a bit of silence. “Alright.. Is everything okay?”

“We need to split up.”

More silence. Trina stammered for a minute, clearly caught off guard. “Oh– Well, I– Yeah.”

What? _Yeah?_

Trina elaborated before Marvin could actually question her, “I think so, too. This isn’t working. But, what about Jason–?”

“We can figure that out later.”

“When will you be coming back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

And that was the end of it. They ended up just saying their goodbyes then and there, and Trina was the one to hang up. Marvin had to stand there for a moment, gathering his thoughts. 

Was she mad? Did _she_ want to split, too? How _long_ has she wanted to split? Was this because Mendel was over? Does she like his psychiatrist? Is Mendel going to stop… psychiatrist-ing him so that he can be with Trina? His client’s wife? And, really, what about Jason? 

Marvin noticed Whizzer peeking his head into the hallway, and immediately brushed all of those questions off for another time. He and Trina could talk about all of that when he got back. Well, whenever that was. 

“Sorry about that, darling,” Marvin said, giving Whizzer a smile as he approached. 

Whizzer gave a small smile back. “What happened?”

Hearing Whizzer’s voice still gave Marvin butterflies in his stomach. He felt lucky, so lucky, knowing that Whizzer trusted him enough to finally speak to him. And his voice was just so lovely. Even though Whizzer hadn’t really said all that much, even though most of his replies were pretty short and only a few words, they meant everything to Marvin. 

“Just Trina, my wife. She called,” Marvin answered, resting his hands on Whizzer’s hips. “I mentioned splitting up to her.”

“Oh,” Whizzer said, softly. “Is she upset?”

“No. Well, I don’t know. I don’t _think_ so. She agreed, kind of. She’s worried about our son. I am too, though, really,” Marvin sighed, shaking his head. 

Whizzer kissed the top of Marvin’s head. “Everything will be alright.”

Marvin chuckled, nodding his head. “Yeah. You’re right. It’ll all work out. She wants to know when I’m coming back. I don’t know that I want to.”

“Why?” 

“Because of you.” 

Whizzer smiled at that. “Family is important, Marvin.”

Marvin absolutely loved the way Whizzer said his name. “Yes, but you’re just as important to me. Would you be willing to come back with me?”

“Wouldn’t your wife be upset?”

“I don’t know. She’d probably like you. As long as we, you know, don’t tell her that I’ve been having an affair.”

Whizzer laughed, and Marvin grinned. Marvin continued, “And anyway, Jason would like you a lot. He doesn’t have many friends, either, so it would be good for him…”

“Okay,” Whizzer agreed. “I’ll come back with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven’t updated in a y e a r hahahahahahaha killme 
> 
> happy new years everyone!! and sorry this chapter is so short yikes


	8. getting home

Everything was packed up and ready to go, and Whizzer was sat in the passenger seat of Marvin’s car. He was… nervous. Definitely nervous. He was meeting Marvin’s family – who did not know, and were not supposed to know, about their little thing going on. Yet, here he was, going to inevitably meet them. Marvin was already driving. There was no backing out, now. 

“You okay?” Marvin suddenly questioned. 

Whizzer was quiet for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t think I’ll be able to talk to them.”

Marvin nodded, understanding. “That’s okay. I’ll talk to them about it. They won’t mind, I’m sure of it.” 

“And what about your wife?”

That seemed to have kind of throw Marvin off. “She… yeah, I don’t know either. We haven’t talked much other than me texting her to say that I’m coming home today, and her saying okay.” 

That just worried Whizzer some more. Did Marvin’s wife even know that he was tagging along? _Should_ he have even tagged along? He remembered what Marvin said a few nights ago, about him being important and about Marvin actually really wanting Whizzer to tag along. And that was why he did. 

“She knows you’re coming. I mentioned it to her last night,” Marvin added, as if reading Whizzer’s mind, not taking his eyes off of the road as he drove. “She’s more than okay with it. I told her that you and Jason would get along.”

“Do you think Jason will like beating my ass at chess?” Whizzer questioned, making Marvin laugh.

“Yeah. He’ll love it.”

***

Whizzer found himself rendered speechless by the time that Marvin pulled into the driveway for the house. Usually, it was his own decision not to speak to other people. This time, he found that he just… _couldn’t,_ Apparently, he was already meeting Marvin’s son. Trina called for Jason and asked him to show Whizzer around, then left the two of them standing in the entranceway.

“Mom said you were coming,” Jason said, after Trina and Marvin had left. “How did you meet Dad, anyway?”

Whizzer’s speech was miraculously back. He felt _fine_ again. “It’s a long story,” Whizzer shrugged. Jason stared at him expectantly, so he elaborated… Changing the details a bit. “Your dad saw me get into an epic fight in the middle of a grocery store, and then he saw me at a coffee shop later that day and told me how cool it was.”

“Really?” Jason didn’t seem to believe him. “Who won the fight?”

Physically, the other guy did.” Whizzer answered. “But let me tell you a secret, kid. In fights, the physical winners don’t matter. I’m much happier after losing that fight, and I think _that’s_ what makes a winner.”

That made Jason smile. “That’s a cool way to look at things. You won because you’re emotionally stronger, not physically stronger. I like that.”

Whizzer chuckled. Marvin was right, this kid really _was_ mature.

“Anyway,” the boy shrugged, “mom told me to show you around and she’ll be mad if she come back and we’re still just standing here. What if we just go to my room and _say_ that I showed you around?”

“Sounds good,” Whizzer agreed. He didn’t necessarily want a house tour anyway. 

They ended up in Jason’s room, which was surprisingly clean for a thirteen-year-old. “Your dad said that you’re good at chess?”

“Yeah. Do you play?”

Whizzer smiled. “I do.”

And then they ended up on Jason’s bedroom floor, playing chess. And, just as Whizzer had expected, Jason won every single round. They were still there, Jason getting his tenth checkmate, when Trina opened the bedroom door. Marvin was standing behind her.

Trina smiled. “You convinced him to play chess with you?”

“Didn’t take much convincing, he wanted to,” Jason answered without looking up, resetting the board. He took his turn then looked up at Whizzer. “Your turn.”

Whizzer smiled at the kid, turning his attention to the board. Marvin came up behind him and moved a piece for him.

“Hey!” Jason pouted at his dad. “That’s not fair. Whizzer’s bad enough as it is.”

Whizzer laughed at that, watching as Marvin rolled his eyes.

“Jason, be nice,” Trina warned. “Anyway, boys. Dinner is ready. Come eat.”

Jason jumped up from the floor and followed Trina into the kitchen, leaving Whizzer and Marvin in the bedroom for a moment.

“You doing okay?” Marvin asked, taking Whizzer’s hands.

Whizzer nodded. “Jason is awesome.”

Marvin grinned. “Yeah. He is.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“Yeah.” Marvin nodded. “We’re splitting up. I mentioned our situation, she wasn’t really even that mad. She said that she already knew. And, get this, she’s with my therapist.”

That made Whizzer laugh. 

“She said that she’d talk to Jason about all of this tonight. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem, since both her and I will still be pleasant with each other and a part of his life. And he really seems to like you, Whizzer.”

Whizzer smiled. “I’d hope so. After he’s kicked my ass ten times at chess, I sure would _hope_ that he likes me.”

Marvin laughed, leaning up a bit to kiss Whizzer. “C’mon. Trina made dinner, and it looked and smelled amazing.”


End file.
